The Bat and The Cat Come Back
by thomthom830
Summary: After several months of wedded bliss, will Selina and Bruce be able to survive their newest challenge? Sequel to BloodSweatTears and Happily Ever After. Rated T, some adult language and adult situations.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Okay, so the title kind of gives it away…but I hope you'll read it anyway. My Bruce and Selina are back for a third installment! If you've clicked on this and haven't read the first two, you probably should. (BloodSweatTears and Happily Ever After). 

I just couldn't give up not writing one of my favorite pairs! Okay, read on and let me know!

… … … … …

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Chapter One

She quietly crept through the house. Her footsteps didn't make a sound on the floor, thanks to the plush carpet the covered the main paths of the house.

Her target was in a back bedroom of the house. They weren't even going to know what hit them.

She continued her careful steps and pressed herself against the wall outside the door. She silently counted to herself.

One. Two. Three.

She launched herself into the room and her smug smile turned into a mixture of disappointed and confused.

The room was empty.

"What the hell?" she asked out loud.

"Looking for me?" a voice behind her asked.

She jumped and screamed, but only just a little.

"Your nerves are getting bad," he told her while he wore a delighted smirk on his face. "You should do something about that."

"If you weren't my husband, Bruce, I probably would have caused you and your body parts some irreparable damage," she said, attempting to save face. "But I need you and them; you're safe this one time."

Bruce Wayne pulled himself towards him. She struggled against him slightly before giving in and wrapping her arms around him.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So, what are you up to down here?" Selina asked. "All the time."

Bruce shrugged. "Things," he replied.

"Well, thank you for being incredibly vague, Mr. Wayne," she purred. Selina let go of her husband and moved to the very large monitor that served as his computer screen. It took up most of the wall in the moderately-sized bedroom. She pressed a key on the keyboard and the screen lit up. A password entry page came up immediately.

"You should just _tell_ me what you're doing. I can be into this system in seconds," Selina told him. "I'll find out either way."

"Seconds?" Bruce asked, his arms folded across his chest.

"Seconds."

It had been a mere six months since they'd dealt with the special form of crazy that was Sofia, Josef and Leo. Life had settled down now and Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle were finally experiencing normal life as a married couple. Well, as normal as the two of them could be.

Alfred was still living in Italy and he'd recently purchased a small cottage, just down the road from the Waynes. He was doing very well, despite the heartbreak he'd just dealt with. They hadn't wanted Alfred to move out, but he insisted that he had to. However, no matter what he told them, it was for his own sanity only. The Bat and the Cat were difficult enough to live with on their own; both together were a nightmare to anyone that wasn't them.

Life lately had been pretty good; except for the last three nights where Selina rarely saw her husband out of his office on the first floor of the house.

Bruce put on his best 'faking it' face and looked at Selina.

"You know you can't lie to me. I know you've been down here brooding over something," Selina said.

"I don't brood," he told her.

Selina laughed out loud. She could not control it. "Oh man. That was fantastic joke! You, Bruce Wayne, don't brood? Ha!" she continued to laugh.

"I don't even know what you're talking about," he said.

"What's wrong?" she asked seriously.

"Nothing," he lied.

He didn't want to lie to Selina, but he felt it wasn't the time to tell her yet. There was no need to worry her now. Besides, he didn't quite know what he was going to say anyway.

"Why don't we just go upstairs," he said as his hands slid around her stomach and hips from behind.

Selina was still standing at his computer set up, attempting different password combinations. His lips found the curve of her exposed neck and he pressed himself against her.

She let herself enjoy the moment for a second, then turned to face him.

"Nice try, Wayne, but you can't distract me with my own moves," she said.

Bruce actually smiled this time.

"Guess I will have to use my own moves."

"You don't have any moves," she challenged her husband.

Without another second she was up and over his shoulder, laughing and pretend fighting his grip. He'd successfully, if only temporarily, distracted her from the computer.

…

Bruce was fast asleep when Selina crept out of their bed. In the faint moonlight that was coming in from the windows, Selina admired her husband's sleeping form. He was looking younger than he had in a long time. Life had been quiet for the two of them and they had really gotten to know one another. And they hadn't killed one another yet.

Selina grabbed a discarded tank top and pair of yoga pants from the floor and silently slipped them on. She smiled into the dark once more and continued out of the room.

Down in the new 'bat cave' as Selina called it, she sat down at the chair in front of the computer. She knew that eventually Bruce would tell her what he was doing, but Selina wasn't willing to wait.

It was clear that Bruce didn't really want to keep her out of the whole thing anyway. She tried a few different password combinations and five minutes later, she was into Bruce's computer. It was the easiest password combination she could have tried: the date of their anniversary. Either Bruce really didn't want to keep her out or he was getting slopping in their domesticity. But Selina really doubted that Bruce Wayne was going to get sloppy when it came to safe-guarding his secrets.

The background of the computer was an image of Bruce and Selina and for a single second, she considered logging back out and heading back upstairs. But instead she smiled and clicked on one of the file icons.

Instantly, Selina was bombarded with news articles about Gotham City. It included news about Wayne Enterprises, Nightwing, and a new crime wave that was sweeping through the city.

Selina read through a few of the articles. Bruce hadn't mentioned a single thing about Gotham in the past months and she thought that he felt the same way she did about their birthplace. Selina figured that he didn't give a shit about Gotham anymore.

Apparently she was wrong.

She closed that file and brought up the next one. It contained a series of email conversations between Bruce and Lucius Fox. They'd started right after the incident with Leo and Josef and continued right up until last night.

Selina sat there for what must have been hours, reading every line that the two men had written to one another. And she couldn't believe the final line that Bruce had sent the night before.

Furious, she closed everything and went stomping back upstairs. Selina made as much noise as she possibly could as she climbed the two flights of stairs up to the master suite.

Reaching their room, she kicked the door open unceremoniously and it banged into the wall behind it, very likely leaving a hole in the drywall where the doorknob connected with it.

Instantly, Bruce was awake and alert in bed.

When he realized that it was Selina causing the ruckus, he rubbed his eyes absentmindedly before he ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to tame it.

"Something bothering you, Selina?" he asked as he watched her move around the room.

She was pulling his clothing out of his dresser and throwing it in a heap on the floor. Once she'd effectively emptied a whole drawer, she moved into the bathroom and further into the walk in closet accessible only through that way. A moment later, she'd returned with her arms full of his suits and dress shirts.

Bruce was up and out of bed, pulling on a pair of athletic shorts as he followed her out into the sitting room. Selina had walked to the overlook on the third story of their house and dumped every article of clothing in her arms over the railing.

Selina turned around and stood with her hands on her hips and observed her husband.

"What did I do?" he asked sleepily.

While the two of them hadn't killed each other in the past six months of 'normal' married life, it didn't mean that they had gone without fighting. Routinely, Selina would get mad at him for something he'd done or not done and vice versa. They'd had plenty of screaming matches, but it had never gotten physical. In fact, this particular occasion was the first time that Bruce had ever seen his wife _this_ angry.

Something had changed in her eyes. Her dark eyes were almost black and her face was hard and showed nothing but anger.

He moved towards her, he wanted to touch her, to calm her down. But she moved away from him and his outstretched arm.

"Why are you doing this? What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm helping you pack for your trip," she said quietly. It didn't matter how quiet she was though, Bruce could still hear the anger in her voice.

"What trip?" Bruce asked her. It was still early and he wasn't catching on as quickly as he normally would.

"Your trip to Gotham," she hissed. "Have a nice flight," she said before stalking back into their bedroom and slamming the door.

…

Author's note: okay, really what do you think? Would you really read another of my Bruce and Selina stories? I hope so because I really want to write it! Anyway, please do let me know what you think!


	2. Chapter 2

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Chapter Two

Bruce had waited at least an hour for Selina to come out of their bedroom, but she held firm. He retreated to the couch in the living room on the second floor.

He was going to go back to sleep. This wasn't how he wanted Selina to find out about his plans, but hell, he was tired and it was still dark out. He could probably at least get a couple more hours of sleep before she came out of their room. Bruce knew that he wasn't going to have to worry about Selina coming after him in his sleep. She was definitely the kind of woman who wanted to watch her prey suffer. She would definitely make sure he was awake before attempting to cause him any injury.

Bruce fell asleep thinking of all the ways Selina would likely torture him in the very near future.

Bruce woke up when the sunlight was streaming through the large windows. He stood up and stretched and winced in pain. The couch was definitely not good for his back.

He could hear Selina in the kitchen. He cautiously left the living room and walked into the next room.

She ambushed him as he walked in. "I just want to know why you think you have to do this," Selina said to him as he joined her in the kitchen. "Can't you just send some kind of anonymous donation, Bruce?"

He looked at her and tried to gauge her state of mind. She seemed calm, but that could change quickly.

"Wayne Enterprises is floundering. I can't let LexCorp buy any shares. That man…"

Selina looked back at her husband. He'd changed so much since they had liberated themselves from the threatening hold that Gotham had held on them and their costumed alter egos. Bruce had begun smiling; he was happy; he was healthy. But suddenly now that he was talking about Gotham and Wayne Enterprises, his fists were clenched at his sides and he was pacing back and forth.

"Let Fox deal with it," she said simply.

"He can't," Bruce replied.

Selina walked up behind Bruce and put her hand to his shoulder to stop his pacing. He turned around and looked down into her eyes.

"Why?" Selina asked. "Didn't you leave him the 51% of the company?"

"Selina, Lex Luthor has put in a bid to buy the majority from Fox for a lot of money. More money than was the company is making right now. He said the stockholders and the board members are restless," Bruce explained.

"And what do you think showing up, _back from the dead_, is going to accomplish?" she asked.

"It's the last thing that exists that connects me with my father," Bruce said quietly. "I can't let it go under and I can't let someone else take over. Especially not Lex Luthor."

"What the _hell_ does Lex Luthor want with Gotham? I thought most of his days were being spent making sure his head was waxed and shiny and figuring out his next plot for president," Selina said, trying to lighten the moment.

Bruce sighed. "Apparently he's decided that taking over Wayne Enterprises will assist with one of those two things."

"Unless Fox has designed some kind of Batman scalp products, I don't think your company is going to help him."

Bruce didn't look convinced.

"I _don't_ want to go," Selina said firmly. "But…if you're certain that this is what you want to do, I'm going to go with you."

"You don't want to stay here and make sure the house is safe?" he said with a smirk on his face.

"Like hell I'm going to stay here if you're going to go gallivanting off to Gotham," Selina replied.

"Gallivanting?" Bruce asked, eyebrows raised.

"Gallivanting," she said breathlessly into his ear.

Without realizing it, she had backed him up against the counter. There was no space between them. She gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled his lips down to meet hers.

"I'm sorry I reacted like I did," Selina told him.

Bruce looked down at her. This was probably the first time that she'd apologized and it was probably going to be the _only_ time she'd do it.

"What made you change your mind?" Bruce asked her.

"I remembered that I love you. But I really wish there was another solution."

"I can't _not_ go back to Gotham, Selina," he said. "But it's not a permanent move. It's just so we can get Wayne Enterprises sorted out and then we can come back here and continue on with the rest of our lives."

Selina looked at him. "Do you really think that it's going to be that easy? Nothing is ever that easy with you and me. Nothing! You're just going to walk back into Gotham, sort out Wayne Enterprises, and just leave again? They won't let you. So you'd better prepare yourself to be staying a while."

Bruce half-smiled and ran a hand through his hair. "Do you really think that I haven't thought about this? I have tried to figure out every possible alternative to this. I _don't_ want to get dragged back into Gotham, but I also _can't_ leave Wayne Enterprises to be bought out when I can do something to fix it.

"If you decide you want to stay here with Alfred, I would understand," he said after a pause.

"What?!" Selina shouted. "What the hell are you talking about? Of course I'm going to Gotham with you."

"It might not be safe for you to go with me," Bruce said.

"It might not be safe for you to go without me," Selina replied. "Can't you just call Fox and tell him what you want done?"

Bruce was silent.

"Or an email? Like you've been doing?" Selina said. "Perhaps a text? Or smoke signals? Anything other than going back to Gotham? Have you talked to Alfred about this? What has he said?"

Bruce was still silent. He was starting to get lost in her changing emotions and opinions.

"You haven't talked to him about this," she surmised. "Are you kidding me right now?" she asked, getting angry again.

"Why would I need to talk to Alfred about it?" Bruce fired back.

Selina was pacing around the room. Bruce merely watched her from his place leaning on the kitchen counter.

"You really don't know?" she asked. "He told me that he wanted nothing more than for you to give up the Batman and enjoy your life. And we're here, Bruce. We're enjoying life, although a little less right now. But your new plan was to run back to Gotham now? After we've been through so much? We've fought the Joker and Harley. And Sofia's special brand of crazy. Fought to have our lives back. And now you want to go running back to the city that almost destroyed you. Good plan."

"I said you didn't have to go," Bruce said.

"Did you not hear me?" she asked. "It's not about me not wanting to go. _You don't have to go,_" she hissed.

They both immediately stopped talking when they heard the door open downstairs.

"Good, you can tell him now," Selina said as they heard him start to climb the stairs.

The older man reached the second floor landing seconds later and he looked at Bruce and Selina.

"Good morning, Master Bruce, Selina," he said cautiously.

"Good morning, Alfred," Selina replied.

"Redecorating?" he asked her.

"Why don't you explain, Bruce?" Selina said, folding her arms across her chest.

"Not now, Selina," Bruce told her. "Not today."

"If you don't tell him, I will," she replied. Selina knew it was borderline unfair to give Bruce an ultimatum, but Alfred deserved to know what was going on.

Bruce held firm. He wasn't going to be pushed around on this. And Selina wasn't about to let him keep silent on such a big issue.

"Bruce is planning on going back to Gotham," Selina told Alfred.

Alfred's face fell.

"Would you please tell him how horrible of an idea that is?" she asked.

"I would prefer to not get involved in the matters of a married couple," Alfred said flatly. He might have tried to mean what he said, but his concern over the matter was evident on his face.

"Alfred, I don't want to go, but I got a message from Lucius," Bruce explained. "It's not good news."

"You don't…"

"Lex Luthor is trying to buy Wayne Enterprises from Fox," Bruce said.

If Selina thought that Alfred was disappointed before, the look on the man's face was heartbreaking.

"You have to go, then," Alfred said. "I wish it weren't the case, but…"

Selina's mouth was open in shock. She was banking on Alfred Pennyworth as her ally in this situation. She'd hoped that once he'd heard what was going on, he'd be able to talk Bruce right out of it.

Alfred was full of surprises.

She wasn't going to win this round. She knew it. And now it was two against one.

"Fine," she pouted. "When do we leave?"

"It'll be easy to pack," Alfred said. "Your things are already downstairs."

…

Author's Note: thanks so much for the great response! I'm hoping this chapter wasn't too confusing.

And, off to Gotham they go…


	3. Chapter 3

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Three

Selina took one more tour through the house. Drop cloths and sheets covered all of their furniture on all of the floors of the structure. She tried to fight the overwhelming sadness that she was feeling, but a tell-tale tear slid down her cheek. Selina swiped it away with her hand as she continued to walk through the house for the last time.

The house would be on full lock-down; they'd created a full security system to ensure its safety while they were gone. They weren't sure how long they'd be gone, but they wanted it to be perfect when they did come home.

Selina was taking in the view from the game room window when she sensed movement behind her.

"Alfred's ready whenever we are," Bruce told her.

"I really would have thought it would have taken longer than three days to pack the whole house up," Selina replied.

Bruce continued to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind and put his chin on her shoulder.

"Remember, this isn't a permanent move," Bruce said. "I don't know how long it's going to be, but we _will_ be back here," he told her.

"You keep saying that," Selina said. "And I want to believe you, but we have a history that makes me think otherwise."

"It's going to be all right," he told her.

"Is it too late to threaten you with an ultimatum?" she asked. "Either stay here or we get a divorce?"

"I think since we've already packed up the car and I've had the plane taxied out on to the runway at the airport, yes," Bruce replied.

"Would you really leave me here anyway?" Selina asked, turning in his arms to look at him.

"If you would seriously look at me and tell me that you wanted to stay while I went back to Gotham, I _would_ have understood. I told you that in the beginning. But I am very happy that you're coming with me."

"Well, you're getting old, sir," Selina said. "Someone has to keep an eye on you. You know you're going to be a target once we get back."

"Well, I hate to tell you this, Selina, but we're a pair now, and that means anyone who is my enemy is now yours as well," Bruce explained.

"Believe me, I know that," Selina said.

"Come on, let's go," Bruce said. "We can get up in the air within the hour and be to Gotham before it's today."

Selina shook her head. "I don't think that's true," she told him. "But I know what you mean."

He kissed her hard before they walked hand in hand out of the house.

…

The plane was ready to go when they arrived at the airport. Bruce had made special arrangements for it to be inspected and gassed up for them for their flight.

He and Alfred loaded their limited bags into the plane and Selina attempted to not look as terrified as she felt. Despite the numerous flights she'd taken over the course of her life, she'd never gotten used to flying.

"Selina," Alfred said, startling her from her thoughts of fiery plane crashes which ultimately led to thoughts of when Bruce saved Batman.

"Yes, Alfred?" she said.

"You don't enjoy flying?" he asked.

Selina put a fake smile on her face and looked at him. "I'm fine," she lied.

"Perhaps you're concerned about the arrival back in Gotham City?" he suggested. It was clear that she was worried about something.

Selina looked for her husband before she spoke. "I think it's a combination of both," she said quietly. "I know why Bruce has to do this; and I do support him, but I don't know if he's considered all of the outcomes. Like, I could be arrested…"

"I thought you said that the both of you wiped your existence away?" Alfred asked.

Selina nodded. "Yes, but I'm sure there are a few people who remember me," she said. "I made my own enemies in Gotham, not many, but I definitely made a few."

"Does Bruce know this?" Alfred asked her.

"Of course he does. Bruce is the only person I've ever been totally honest with in my entire life, well, until you."

"I consider that an honor, Mrs. Wayne," he told her.

Selina winced at the use of her formal name.

"You'd better get used to that," Alfred said. "Once the both of you return to Gotham, you're going to be called 'Mrs. Wayne' ever time you turn a corner. Lucky for all of us, Mr. Wayne has a few ways to combat the paparazzi that tends to follow him."

"They won't even know he's there for a while," Selina said. "We're going to lie low for as long as humanly possible."

Bruce came back to the cabin of the plane and looked at the two people he held most dear in his life.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be to go back to Gotham City," Selina said.

He looked over at Alfred. "What about you?" Bruce asked.

Alfred nodded. "Yes, I'm ready," he replied. "Would you like to ride up in the cockpit with your husband, Selina?" he asked, smiling at her.

"I know what you're doing, and I think I'm going to decline so I can stay back here and get properly drunk before I get back to that awful city," Selina said.

Bruce gave her a look.

"I'm kidding. I'm going to nap and pretend that this whole little adventure is just a bad dream."

…

The plane ride went smoothly, as planned and Selina braced herself when she felt them touch down on the runway.

The city was just like she remembered as she'd seen the city from her aerial point of view. A knot formed in the pit of her stomach as they circled around and came in for the landing.

The small plane came down the runway and slowed to a stop.

Despite the fact that Selina had slept most of the way from Italy over the ocean back to the states, she felt exhausted at the prospect of having to begin something of her old life. This city had a way of sucking the life out of you. It made her more worried about what was to come to Bruce.

Once the plane had stopped, Bruce came back to check on her.

"Hey," he said, taking her hand as she stared out the window.

"Hey yourself," Selina replied.

"I came back here earlier and you were really out," Bruce told her. "Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not, but I will be because I have you. And Alfred," Selina said.

"I'm really happy that you agreed to come along with me," he told her.

"Would you really have come without me?" Selina asked.

"I had to come back, Selina," he told her. "I want to be able to tell you that I would have stayed back in Italy, but I can't. Do you understand?" he asked.

"Of course I do," she replied. "And I hope you understand what I say next."

Bruce braced himself for whatever it was she could say.

"I'll train Blake. I owe him a little for locking me up," she smiled devilishly.

Bruce laughed. They were both glad that the moment was lightened, even if temporarily. Gotham was not going to be easy. And explaining his disappearance for a year was going to take a lot of work. And explaining the fact that he married a now-reformed thief was going to be even more difficult. But they had each other. And that's all that really mattered.

Alfred joined them a moment later.

"Our car has arrived," he told them. "I think we should get a move on so we can get to the penthouse."

Selina looked confusedly at Bruce. "What penthouse?"

"Lucius kept my penthouse, well, just for this kind of situation. In case I came back," Bruce said. "It was kept off of the books, so when everything went south financially after the incident at the stock exchange, it wasn't used to pay my debts," he told her as they started to gather luggage.

They didn't bring much between the three of them. Selina thought it best to not pack much, to deter them from putting roots back down in this horrible city. Bruce seemed to follow her lead and did the same. Alfred always packed lightly and efficiently anyway.

"Let's go," Bruce said. "I'm hoping to get a meeting with Lucius this morning."

The driver of their car was waiting for them as they approached with suitcases. He reached for Selina's and took hers from her, but his eyes never left Bruce. Apparently he was still recognizable after all of this time.

"You sure do look a lot like Bruce Wayne," the young man said. "Has anyone ever told you that?" he said as he took the luggage from Bruce to load into the trunk.

"Well, I _am _Bruce Wayne," Bruce said as he took his sunglasses off his face. The driver simply stared at him. "What? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

"It's just…"

"Just what?" Selina purred as she joined her husband and the driver.

"Bruce Wayne is dead," the driver told them.

"Well, someone is wrong," Bruce grinned like an idiot.

Selina tried to follow what he was doing, but she was lost for a moment. His hand slid down her side, and the driver watched as Bruce made no attempt to cover up that he had just grabbed his wife's butt. Her eyes went wide for a second before she finally realized what Bruce was up to.

This was the return of the ridiculous, narcissistic Bruce Wayne who felt the need to put on a show for everyone. This was the Bruce Wayne that she despised. But she didn't let on. Selina whispered something in her husband's ear and he turned and grinned like an idiot.

"Maybe if Alfred weren't riding with us, Selina," he said. "The penthouse isn't that far from here, though."

Selina kissed him long and hard, leaving red lipstick on his face before climbing into the car.

Between helping 'train' Blake and putting on this little show for the people of Gotham, maybe this trip to the city she hated most wasn't going to be the worst thing ever.

…

Author's note: thank you for the terrific response. And I'm sorry about the typo that one of my reviewers caught from the second chapter. Out of habit I typed Amanda instead of Selina. It's fixed now.

But let me know what you think! You're all amazing; I really mean that! Have a great day!


	4. Chapter 4

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Four

Selina stared down from their penthouse dwelling. Even from fifty-seven floors up, she could seen the frenzy of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the framed Prince of Gotham and the woman he was traveling with.

Alfred joined her at the massive floor to ceiling window.

"This is ridiculous, Alfred," she said without taking her eyes from the ground.

"You can always stay up here," Alfred told her.

Selina turned slightly to look at him.

"How are you doing?" she asked him.

"Me?" Alfred asked.

Selina fussed absent-mindedly with the pearls that hung around her neck. "Yes, you," she said. "How are you holding up now that we're back in Gotham?"

Alfred did not answer right away. "I will remain fine so long as he doesn't pick up the cape and the cowl again."

"I'm with ya there," she said, squeezing the man's hand.

She was still holding Alfred's hand when Bruce walked back into the room.

"Is my wife planning on leaving me for my butler?" he asked.

"Are you going to act like a pretentious playboy asshole while we're home?" Selina asked in return.

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Then our elopement will have to wait, Alfred," Selina smiled.

"I should be so lucky, ma'am," Alfred smiled. "I am going to see about lunch. Is everyone hungry?"

Both Selina and Bruce nodded. "Thank you, Alfred."

Alfred exited the room and left the both of them alone in each other's company.

Selina wrapped her arms around Bruce's neck. "Will you make me a promise?" she said into his ear.

He looked down at her. "Anything, Selina."

"You have to promise me you aren't going to put the cape and cowl on. You have to promise me that the Batman stays dead even though Bruce Wayne is very much alive."

"Okay," he told her. "I won't. This is Bruce Wayne's fight, not _his_ fight."

"Thank you," she said as she put her head down on his chest.

"I love you, Selina," he told her.

This is what he'd always wanted Bruce Wayne had wanted to be able to say those words to a woman and feel truly secure that it wasn't simply because he was going through the motions. His whole being was in love with her. His unconscious thoughts were in love with her. Bruce wasn't about to do anything that screwed that up.

"So, do you want the tour?" he asked.

"Hell yes. I want the tour. I'm the wife of a very rich man and he has a 57th floor penthouse," Selina said.

"If I'm not acting like a pretentious playboy, you aren't acting like a…"

"A what, Bruce?" she purred. "One of the bubble-headed, idiotic women who fell for your ridiculous partying playboy routine?"

"Well, yeah?" he said, grinning.

"Well, I'm already a step ahead. You fell for me," she said. "So about that tour…" she said as she slowly started removing the jacket she was wearing.

"We can start in the bedroom."

In an instant, he'd scooped her over his shoulder and was carrying her back to the bedroom. Suddenly, neither of them remembered they were hungry.

…

It was dark now as Selina looked out the penthouse's windows. The smog totally covered every inch of the sky; there were no stars to be seen.

She shook her head and smooth down her dress. She was dressed in a form-fitting black dress and her hair was pulled up, off of her neck, so the city of Gotham could admire her precious pearls.

The two of them were going out on the town, which actually sounded awful, and they were going to be seen.

Bruce wanted to establish his presence back in the city without having to call Lex Luthor. He wanted Luthor to read about it in the papers in the morning.

Bruce came back into the room and looked at his wife.

"You look fantastic," he said.

"Wife material for Bruce Wayne?"

"Too good for Bruce Wayne," he replied.

"Flattery will get you everywhere," she replied. "You don't look so bad yourself, you know that," Selina said. "But the tie has to go."

"No tie?" he said as her quick fingers undid the knot and pulled the tie from around his neck and then started to unbutton the top buttons for him.

"Better," she said.

"You really do look amazing," he told her.

"Uh huh, keep sucking up now that we're back in Gotham already," Selina said. "But this afternoon was a good start to repaying your debt to me," she said as she touched his cheek with her hand.

He grabbed her hand in his own and held her palm to his lips.

"I'm just going to follow your lead tonight," she said. "If you're going to act like the Prince of Gotham, I'll…"

"Be the princess?"

Selina laughed. "Oh, Brucey, I'm the queen. The queen of the knight."

"I understand, my queen," he said. "But no drinking tonight."

"Well, shit," Selina said. "Gotham is a hell of a lot more tolerable after a few shots. That's how I survived ages 19 to 20," she said.

"Lies," Bruce said.

"Do you think I've told you everything?"

"I do," he said back, not backing down. "You're bluffing."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not…"

"Are you both ready to go?" Alfred asked as he walked into the room. After looking them both over, he sighed. "Must you both look like you're going to a funeral each time you go out?" he asked.

"I like black," they answered together.

"Well, you're definitely suited for one another," Alfred muttered. "Let's go."

…

Going to a restaurant with Bruce Wayne in Gotham City was definitely a major undertaking. It seemed as though Selina had not mentally prepared herself for the media frenzy or the folks that went bat-shit crazy, no pun intended, to see Bruce Wayne again.

Reporters and paparazzi were fighting for the attention of the crown Prince of Gotham and his return to their city. And through the circus he never let go of Selina's hand, although they made sure that everyone got a good view of the wedding ring on her left hand.

Selina stayed at Bruce's left side no matter how many people tried to get in between them and eventually they made it from the car and into the restaurant.

They were seated at a center table where all of the guests had a view of them and Selina had a clear view of Bruce's blind spot despite the fact that he'd parked her chair impossibly close to his own.

"Didn't I used to own this place?" he asked the host who was still nearby them.

The man stuttered incoherently.

"It's all right," Bruce waved. "I probably don't want to buy it again."

Selina turned and whispered something seductively into Bruce's ear and then grinned madly. The host watched as Selina's hand slid down from her neck, down her own body, and settled on Bruce's upper thigh.

"Do you still have those private bathrooms in the back?" he asked the host.

He muttered an answer and nodded.

Bruce's hand was skimming the hemline of Selina's dress and his thumb found the bare skin of her thigh. This game was going to be fun.

"Can I get you both something to drink?" the waiter, who had just joined them, asked.

Alfred had been hanging back and suddenly appeared at Bruce's other side with a bottle of 'champagne'.

Mr. and Mrs. Wayne prefer to have their own champagne," Alfred said, opening the bottle. He moved around the couple and poured the 'champagne' into the glasses on the table.

"Thank you, Alfred," Selina giggled and then down the whole glass.

"How much of that did we bring?" I think I want to see my wife in a champagne bath tonight."

Selina almost gagged at the idea, but instead she caught herself and giggled again. "Brucey, don't say things like that when people can hear you. What will they think of me?"

He whispered into her ear and her eyes went wide and her mouth opened in mock-shock. She slapped him lightly on the chest.

"Honey! Not while we're out in public. Well, not until after I've had another couple of drinks," she smiled.

…

Once back in the car, Bruce divested himself of his jacket the second he climbed in. Selina immediately took the suit jacket and threw it over her knees.

"Why didn't you just tell me you were cold?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," Selina said. She slid closer to her husband. "I'm just tired."

"I can go to see Gordon by myself," he told her. "If you'd like to go home and get some rest."

"I'm going with you," Selina said. "And we're going to pay Blake a little visit, too, right?"

"If we can find him," Bruce said.

…

Author's Note…thanks for the great response! So you get two updates in one day! Thank you!


	5. Chapter 5

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Chapter 5

Selina and Bruce splashed through the waterfall and landed a lot more gracefully than she thought they would.

It was two in the morning and she yawned as they removed themselves from the harnesses.

"Yum, it smells the same," Selina noted as they began to wade through the thigh deep water.

Bruce had a hold of her elbow and they took one more step before the floor began to rise underneath their feet.

Bruce still said nothing as he glanced around as the platform raised. It _was_ the same. If he hadn't already read about 'Nightwing' in the news, he'd have thought the kid had decided against taking over.

"He must be just as weird as you," Selina smiled. "This place is the same as when we left it."

"I know," was all Bruce said.

"Do you think he found the apartment back there?" she asked, peering around. The place didn't even really look like it had been touched since they left a little over a year ago.

"I don't know."

Selina walked away and towards the hall where Bruce had hidden the small apartment and disappeared out of sight. Bruce watched her for a minute before he moved to the computer set up that had also risen out of the water.

Bruce was logged back on to the set up within a matter of a minute. And he was hacked into Blake's files as well. He started to read some of the crime scene reports that he'd been unable to get in Italy.

He was reading about a copycat Joker as a sound, faint as it was, caught his attention.

Bruce whirled around and brought the man behind him down to the ground out of pure instinct. Bruce was faster and stronger, but not by much. But it didn't matter. He looked down into his 'attacker's' eyes and recognized them immediately. He let his knee up off of the man's windpipe and helped the masked person to his feet.

"Nice suit," Bruce told him.

The man in front of him removed his simple mask and looked at him. "Thanks." He unzipped a part of the Kevlar he was wearing and looked at Bruce. "What brings Bruce Wayne back to life?"

"Nightwing, huh?" Bruce asked him in response.

"Kind of went with the whole 'bat' idea, I thought," Blake replied.

Bruce nodded in agreement. He couldn't help but feel a little proud of the man standing before him.

"This shit is a lot more uncomfortable that I would have thought," he told Bruce. "Especially for as often as you used to wear it."

Bruce was leaning against the computer desk with his arms folded across his chest. He nodded.

"Seriously, though, what brings you back to Gotham? You had the perfect escape."

"Well, I heard some interesting news about Wayne Enterprises. And felt it was best to come sort it out myself," Bruce explained. "And it looks like you've got your hands full," he motioned to the graffiti that read "HA HA HA" in what Bruce hoped was simply red paint. "Joker copycat."

"How do you know it's not _the_ Joker?" Blake asked.

Bruce tipped is head. "It's a long story. But the Joker is dead," Bruce told him.

"How do you…?"

"The better question is: why don't _you_ know?" Selina asked in an almost purr as she came up behind him. "Robin."

Blake turned back to Bruce. "You told her."

"She's my wife," Bruce told him.

"Are you going to arrest me again, Bird Boy?" she teased.

Blake's face remained stone-like.

"Oh, come on. Even Bruce has a sense of humor, Robin. Relax. This job will kill you if you…"

"This job _is_ killing me anyway, Ms. Kyle or do you go by Mrs. Wayne then?" he asked angrily.

He turned his face from the shadows into the dim light down in the cave. Bruce and Selina finally saw the ravages. He had deep, dark purple circles under his eyes and the rest of his face had a grey pallor to it. He was clean shaven, but he looked damn close to when Selina first met Bruce.

"You look like shit," Selina said. "You need a four day nap."

"Selina," Bruce warned. It was a full out Batman growl. And unlike her, Selina immediately complied.

Blake turned away from them. "You know, I thought his was going to be a good chance for me to make a difference. Something that I hadn't been able to do when I was a cop, but…this is worse. And I don't even get the almost-regular sleep that I got as an officer."

Both Selina and Bruce stared with non-committal looks on their faces.

"It's just…never mind," Blake said. "I'm going to go change. And when did you build an apartment back there?"

"He looks like shit," Selina said.

"Did you have to tell him that?" Bruce asked her.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child, Bruce," Selina said back.

"Don't act like one," he told her.

"As much as I'm enjoying your little bickering, would you stop it?" he asked as he walked back towards them. He was in a pair of grey sweats and he was pulling a shirt over his head.

He was definitely leaner than he'd been before. And that was not necessarily good for a man with his build.

Selina also notice a deep gash that he was attempting to hide, but was failing at miserably.

"I should get that stitched up for you," Selina told him sympathetically. He didn't have anyone to look after him like Bruce always did.

"Um…" he hesitated.

"You'd rather bleed out on the batcave floor?" she asked.

"You should just let her do it," Bruce said quietly.

Blake raised an eyebrow in Bruce's direction.

"You, of all people, let your wife tell you what to do?" Blake asked.

Selina was up and in his ear.

"I can be very convincing," she purred as she pushed him down into the chair. "And don't you forget it."

Bruce's supply shelves had dramatically decreased, but there was still a suture kit. He pulled it and handed it to his wife.

He couldn't help but remember each time he'd sat in the same chair and Alfred had lectured him about the choices he was making in his life. Now he was watching his wife do the same thing to Blake. Well, almost the same thing.

"You should really do something to have stronger armor on your arms if you're going to do the same 'no gun' thing as Bruce. They'll always go after your weak points when they find one."

"I'm standing right here," Bruce said.

"And you wouldn't be if I hadn't taken Bane out with…shocker…a gun," Selina said.

"Could you focus on the needle in my arm?" Blake asked. "And I ask again, please sort out your weird domestic issues later?"

"He's hilarious, Bruce. No wonder you left him with your stuff."

"Can I ask a question?"

"No," Selina said quickly.

"Sure," Bruce said. "Ask me anything."

Selina shot him a confused look.

"First question…how'd you end up married to…her?" Blake asked.

Selina laughed as she continued to stitch up his arm.

"Okay, so you're back because of the crap with Lex Luthor, I suppose?" Blake said.

"Well, we're not back because we missed this hellhole," Selina said. She snipped the sutures with the small scissors and exchanged them for a bandage.

Blake looked down at the work the woman had done. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Selina put the bandage on. "It's probably better if you didn't know."

He looked over at Bruce and Bruce shook his head.

"Luthor is attempting to take over my father's company. I can't let my father's legacy fall to a man like Luthor," Bruce said. "I'm going to take him on."

"I think I've still got some of your batarangs laying around somewhere," Blake told him.

"I'm not going to need the cape and the cowl this time," Bruce said. "But thanks."

"And since we're here, Birdie, I'm going to help train you a little bit," Selina said as she shook her head. "And maybe a facial."

"No and no," Blake shook his head.

"What? Scared of a girl? Remember, you _did_ arrest me that one time," Selina said. "Hit me."

"Hell no," Blake looked at her.

He started to take a step away then turned in an attempt to surprise her with a hit. But she caught his arm managed to flip him over on his back.

Selina crouched down and looked him in the eye. "Still think you don't need my help?"

He groaned and Selina offered her hand to help him up off the damp ground.

"It was a cheap shot, I'm sorry," Selina said sincerely. "But you won't fall for it again, will you?"

Blake realized at this point that Bruce was flipping through the crime scene photos again.

"What can you tell me about this?" Bruce asked as he pointed to the computer monitor.

"Oh no, no, no, Bruce Wayne, don't you dare get involved in this crime bullshit. This is his problem now," Selina said as she pointed to Blake.

"Thanks," Blake replied sarcastically.

"I just want to know what's out there."

"The same shit that's always been out there," Selina replied. "And this one is a lot less creative."

"Well, basically, what you see is what you get. Whoever is behind this thoroughly studied the Joker and his kill patterns," Blake explained. "It's methodical; down to the last brutal detail."

Bruce zoomed in on another image and Selina grimaced at the gore.

"I wish I had more to drink during dinner," she replied.

"Selina," Bruce said as he zoomed the picture in further.

The two of them got very close to the screen to examine what he'd found. A seemingly useless trinket. A small, round bell. So small that the detectives on the scene wouldn't have noticed.

But Bruce noticed.

"That looks like it might have been attached to a hat, don't you think?" Selina said.

"Like a jester's hat."

Selina sighed. This is exactly what she didn't want to happen. They hadn't even been back in Gotham for 12 hours and Bruce was already falling into his old habits.

And it looked like the copycat wasn't exactly that…

…

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Chapter Six

Selina woke up and almost panicked. She didn't recognize where she was for a whole minute and she never liked feeling that way.

Another minute passed and she realized that she was in Gotham. She was in the bed in the penthouse that Bruce had seemed to save for a rainy day.

There were a lot of rainy days in Gotham City.

She was alone in the bedroom and she climbed from the bed to go look back at the gray, gloomy city through the wall of windows.

"I hate this place," she whispered to herself.

A knock at the door caught her attention. "Come in," she called.

Alfred came in to the bedroom with a tray of food and a pot of coffee.

"You know you don't need to do this for me, right, Alfred?" she said to the man.

He settled the tray on the stand and smiled. "I do, yes. But what else will I do then?"

"You can be lazy with me, Alfred," Selina smiled. "I don't intend to do much interacting with Gotham City. Perhaps catch up on my movies? This place has a theater, right?"

"You're going to lie low while in Gotham?" Alfred asked. "I don't believe that for a second."

"Okay, well, maybe I don't plan to do anything with Gotham in the daylight," Selina replied.

Alfred nodded. "_That_ sounds more like you."

Selina looked at him out of the corner of her eye.

"You've figured me out?" she smiled.

"You made no promise to Bruce that you wouldn't go out in _your_ suit," Alfred said. "I understand it was a one-sided agreement. And that's not to say that I don't agree with it."

"And you know about this agreement because…?"

"I know everything, Mrs…Selina," Alfred replied.

"I would laugh, but I don't think you're joking," Selina told him. "Since you're the all-knowing Alfred, would you know where my husband has gone to? Is he somewhere in this place?"

"Well, he told me he was going out for a run, but I very much suspect he was going to meet with Commissioner Gordon," Alfred told her.

Selina nodded slowly. "He told you he was going to go for a run?" she asked. "Rookie," she said quietly as she stared out the window again.

"What are your plans for the day, then, ma'am?" Alfred asked.

"Would you go with me?"

"Where, Selina?" Alfred asked. "And, of course."

"I want to go visit my parents at the cemetery," Selina said.

…

"When they told me that Bruce Wayne was back in Gotham City, I was apt to no believe them," Jim Gordon told the man sitting in front of him. "But now he's sitting here, in my office."

Bruce was sitting back, one leg crossed casually over the other. He was wearing a traditional dark suit, but this time, he was Bruce Wayne and Bruce Wayne only, as he sat before Jim Gordon.

"I would say that it feels good to be home, but this _isn't_ home and Gotham definitely doesn't feel good."

Bruce observed the man before him. It had only been a little over a year, but Gordon looked at least 10 years older. There was more grey hair streaking the man's hair and moustache, but Bruce was suffering the same problem, so he couldn't judge.

Gordon opened his mouth, but Bruce cut in.

"I know you've got a lot of questions, Commissioner, but I'd rather not discuss it here," Bruce said.

Gordon nodded that he understood.

"I just have one thing to say, Mr. Wayne," Jim Gordon said.

"And what's that?"

"Thank you."

Bruce's face remained the same; he managed to keep his face completely emotionless.

"For what?" he asked evenly.

Gordon nodded once and changed his approach. "So, perhaps the usual spot?"

"Same place, same time," Bruce said. He started to get up from his seat. "Thank you for your time, Commissioner. I am now going to make sure that my wife hasn't left me for bringing her to Gotham."

"You're married now?" Jim asked.

"Selina Kyle," Bruce told him.

Jim nodded and a small smirk appeared on his lips. He should have figured; he remembered the last few seconds before the Batman saved the city.

"Don't worry about her, though. She's turned over a new leaf," Bruce told him. "So to speak."

There was a moment of silence before Bruce moved for the door.

"Thanks again," Bruce said as he walked out of the man's office.

The whole Gotham Police Department stared as he walked out. Between last night's high profile dinner and his visit to Gordon, Lex Luthor would know that he was back. And hopefully he'd take the hint and back off. If not, he was prepared to do what he had to.

His phone rang as he stepped into the dull sunlit street. The GCPD was not in a good part of town, but all of Gotham was in a bad part of town.

Looking down at the display, she pulled the phone to his ear. "Hi honey," he said as he walked to his car. Bruce unlocked the Lamborghini that he bought on the airplane on the way over. It was black, of course, and very flashy. He might not be the Bruce Wayne that everyone expect, but he's going to play the part while he's here.

"How's Gordon?" she purred into his ear.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I went for a run."

"You're such a terrible liar," Selina told him. "Must be the old age."

"Must be," he smiled.

"So…?"

"I have a meeting set up with him for a later time…" Bruce trailed off.

"It doesn't involve a cape, right?"

"I hope not. I don't have one," he told her.

"You can wear your bathrobe and relive the glory days," she said.

He could hear Alfred laugh and say something in the background.

"Alfred says you're welcome to his robe," she laughed.

"Tell him thanks," Bruce smiled again. "What are you up to today?"

"I'm running away to the Bahamas with Alfred. We're about to board the plane. What about you?" she replied.

"What are you really doing?" Bruce asked.

"We're touring the city," Selina said. "Alfred and I are taking in the sights. I think I want to get my picture taken with the Batman statue at City Hall."

"Sounds like a full day," Bruce said. "Any chance you'd both want to meet me for lunch later?"

"Pick a time and place and text me. I have to go though. See you later," Selina said. "Love you."

"Love you," Bruce replied.

…

Selina disconnected the call. She tucked her phone back into her purse and put the bag back on the floor of the car. She was riding in the passenger seat while Alfred was driving them. They were headed to the outskirts of the city, to the cemetery where her family was buried.

"May I ask you a question, Selina?" Alfred asked.

"Of course," Selina said as she turned to look at him.

"Why didn't you tell Bruce what you're doing?" Alfred asked. "Of course, you don't have to tell him. I was just curious."

"He knows that my parents are dead, but he doesn't know why," Selina said. "I don't want to say I'm ashamed, because my mom is the reason I am the way I am today, but it's…"

"If you choose to tell me or not to tell me, Selina, it won't change anything," Alfred told her. "No pressure."

"Thank you, Alfred," she said.

Alfred continued to drive them until they came to a small cemetery. The gates were flanked by two enormous angel statues.

Alfred pulled in and waited for instructions.

"I'll walk by myself. I'll just be a minute," she said.

Alfred turned the car off and Selina climbed out. He watched as she very carefully walked through the small space. She wasn't looking for the plots; she knew exactly where she was going. She continued down a path and turned a corner and then Alfred lost sight of her.

He decided he was going to offer moral support and hope she didn't think he was intruding on her private moment.

Alfred locked the car and followed her same path. He found her standing at three very small headstones that were close together.

He read the first two and knew they were her parents. He was surprised to read the third epitaph. A young woman; younger than Selina.

"My sister," Selina offered as an explanation.

And then he noticed that it was not only her sister's birthday, but her mother's birthday as well.

"I can match Bruce dead parent for dead parent. And raise him a dead sibling. I've had to bury my whole family. I'm the end of the line," she said quietly.

Selina was sad, but she wasn't going to cry. She wouldn't let herself stand outside and sob like a child. It had been 16 years since her mom and dad died and 10 since her little sister.

"Selina?" Alfred asked.

He'd noticed that she had been gripped her purse handle so hard that her knuckles where white.

"Yes?" she said, shaking herself from her thoughts.

"Do you want to tell me about it? Would that make you feel better?" he asked.

"I could only afford these little headstones," she replied. "And that was only after I started stealing. The fast food job I had when I was 14 wasn't the cash cow I thought it would be. And I didn't last very long…I threw a hamburger at a customer."

Alfred smiled.

"My dad was a gambler and got in with the mob here in Gotham. He lost all of our money and then owed them a hell of a lot more. And on top of being a gambler, he was a horrible drunk. My mom used to work two jobs to keep a roof over our heads and when she'd get home from work, he'd beat the hell out of her. One day, she just snapped. I came home from school and found her dead on the bathroom floor."

Alfred just stood there, listening to her. He didn't really know what to say.

"Well, then my dad decided to use me as his personal punching bag. It lasted about four weeks. He'd pushed me so hard that I fell and had a huge gash on my forehead. Up until then, I was okay taking the beating because it wasn't my sister. But I ran out of the apartment at that point. I got cleaned up and calmed down and went home a few hours later. And found my dad unconscious and my sister cowering in the bedroom. I called an ambulance and tried to calm her down. But my dad was dead. They told me when they got there."

Alfred reached out and took her hand.

"My sister, Maggie, and I were both put in a foster home for the night and then we were put in a group home. We were orphans and we didn't have you," Selina said sadly.

"Maggie was this beautiful little girl. And she was only eight when we were put in the orphanage. And she got adopted probably only a month or so after we got there. Nobody wanted a teenager. After that, I never saw her again until her funeral."

"What happened?" Alfred asked.

"When she was a teenager, she fell into her own bad crowd. She started doing drugs and drinking. She overdosed. Heroin, I think," Selina said.

"I'm so sorry Selina," Alfred said. "That's a lot of loss for a young person," Alfred said.

"My sister wasn't like the rest of us. She was a good kid, kept herself out of trouble. But she tried drugs once, I know, because I beat the guy who gave it to her until he told me. She was only 13. He was 17. She OD'ed the one and only time she got high. I've done a lot of things, but I never touched drugs, and that's the one and only thing she ever did…"

The phone in Selina's purse chimed and she opened it to take it out.

"Bruce," she said as she read the message. "I think I'm about done here," she told Alfred. "Bruce wants us to meet him for lunch."

Alfred blinked as Selina changed back. It was clear that she did not like being vulnerable in front of people. But she couldn't figure out why she told him instead of her own husband.

But he couldn't worry about that. He had to get Selina to her husband right now.

…

"…Yes, ladies, I saw them with my own eyes. And it's in all the papers and on the news…Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are back in Gotham," a man said. He had dark hair and blue eyes.

"Then the next stage of our plan can begin, Eddie," a slow, sultry female voice said.

"Did that old guy come with them?" a higher pitched female voice said.

"Yes, the old guy came with them," Edward Nigma told them.

"Good!" Harley shouted. "I owe him one for Mr.J," she said. "I wanna go get him know!"

"All in good time, Harley. All in good time," Ivy told her friend.

…

Author's Note: What did you think? Let me know!


	7. Chapter 7

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Seven

It was two in the morning and Bruce Wayne was moving around in the semi-darkness of the bedroom he shared with his wife. It had been a while since he'd snuck around in the middle of the night and truthfully, he wasn't totally excited about it.

That fact, as well as the fact that he was going to meet Gordon. This is the same man whom he'd told he was the Batman before he'd taken the bomb away.

But if someone else was going to know who he was, he knew he could trust Gordon.

Bruce had been watching Selina sleep. Both Alfred and his wife had been acting oddly since they'd spent time together this afternoon. Well, maybe 'odd' wasn't the word. He'd always been amazed at how well the two of them had gotten along, but now the two of them were getting along like long-time best friends.

That didn't scare Bruce. It confused him.

"Why are you staring at me while I'm sleeping?" Selina asked in a sleepy voice.

"If you were actually asleep, you wouldn't know," Bruce told her.

"Well, you were lurking around the bedroom. How could I sleep when you're lurking?"

"Lurking?"

"You would be such a terrible burglar," she told him.

"What were you and Alfred really up to today?"

"We robbed Gotham City Savings and Loan," Selina said.

"Selina," he said in a warning voice.

"We went places, like I said. Did some sightseeing," Selina said. "Just because you weren't with me _all_ day does not mean I went and got into trouble. Being back in Gotham does not mean I went and got into trouble. Being back in Gotham does not mean I'm automatically going back to a life of crime."

"I didn't say that you were and I certainly did not accuse you of that," Bruce told her. "I just wanted to know what happened today."

"I'm tired, Bruce. Go see Gordon. And try not to be seen," she yawned. "That means do a better job than what you were just doing."

She laid back down on her side, facing away from him.

Bruce opened his mouth to reply, but wisely chose not to provoke a bigger argument. Making sure he wasn't seen using a grappling hook in the middle of the night in Gotham City was _actually_ a very big deal. Selina had a point. He just wasn't going to tell her that.

But, like he hadn't ever taken time away from it, Bruce fired the gun and then rose quickly to the top of the building that was the meeting place.

He'd taken precautions to wear all black and a balaclava so no one could see his face. If anyone did see him up talking to Gordon, hopefully they'd assume it was Nightwing.

Out of habit, Bruce pressed a button in his pocket, to fire a mini-EMP and kill all electronic devices that might have potentially been there to record him. You couldn't be too careful. Ever.

As he approached Gordon, he spoke. Half-Bruce, half-Batman growl. "No names."

The commissioner silently nodded.

"What are you doing in Gotham?" Gordon asked. He knew he would have to choose his words wisely as well.

"Had to check on the company. I've been keeping an eye on things from home and it seems like there's some interest in it from an outsider. An outsider that I don't particularly care for," Bruce replied. "But it seems like you've got your hands full here, too."

"I've had twelve bodies in three weeks," Gordon replied. "Some as grisly as the Joker. Some clean with no known cause of death yet. Some with clues as ridiculous as they come."

"Clues?" Bruce asked.

"Well, riddles," Gordon said.

"Like what?"

"_What is the beginning of eternity, the end of time and space, the beginning of every end and the end of every race?_" Gordon told him.

"The letter _E_," Bruce said.

"It's just one clue. By the way, it took my men three days to figure that out," Gordon said tiredly. "It doesn't make any sense to the murder. It's like they like riddles and picked one."

"What about the Joker murders? Do you know or have a lead yet?" Bruce asked.

"Nightwing and I think he's back. He escaped from Arkham Asylum during the time of the occupation. There were some murders on a trail, then they stopped and some similar murders in Europe. We think the crazy bastard must be back," Gordon explained.

"The Joker is dead," Bruce said from behind the balaclava.

Gordon stared incredulously. This man spent his life not killing anyone on principle. Could he have changed since he'd last seen him?

"I saw it happen. Someone else got to him before I did."

"Was it…" Gordon trailed off, referring to Selina.

"No," Bruce said. "Not her. Someone else. But his sidekick-slash-girlfriend was also picked up when this all happened. There's a chance…she could have escaped and she could be behind these murders."

"Who?"

"Harleen Quinzel," Bruce told him. "She was a psychology student at Arkham while the Joker was there. She worked with him. Fell in love with him. She helped him escape during the occupation and then they came after us. Her kind of crazy is almost worse than his was."

"I can tell she's taken some pointers from him," Gordon replied.

"I saw some crime scene photos. There was a bell left behind. She goes by Harley Quinn and wears a jester costume. The bell could have easily come from her hat. But no one has seen any of these murders happening?"

"Witnesses are disappearing or there aren't any. I'm afraid we're going to just find bodies piled up somewhere."

"Is there any chance that I can use you and pick your brain?"

"I promised someone that I wouldn't be participating in…"

"I wouldn't need that. We could use your detective skills, if you had a chance…" Gordon suggested.

A sound caught both of their attentions and they both turned.

"How come I wasn't invited to the party?" Nightwing asked.

"Maybe you just missed your invitation," Bruce told him.

It was a tad surreal for Gordon to be standing with both the older and new vigilante in Gotham City. He was very pleased to have Bruce Wayne alive. He deserved to be happy now, after all that he'd done for the city that had waited no time in turning on him and then turning back when they were about to be annihilated.

"What do you know about Harleen Quinzel?" Bruce asked.

Nightwing shook his head. "She worked with the Joker in Arkham. No one has heard from her since the occupation."

"She _was _working with the Joker. Helped him break out. They came after me and my family. The Joker is dead, but it's totally possible that she's here, but she's definitely not working alone. She likes messy. The scenes and bodies with no obvious cause of death, that's someone else. Have you had them run tests for organic poisons?"

"No. No, we were hoping that something obvious would come up and…"

"Well, that should be your next step," Bruce interrupted.

"What about the riddles?" Nightwing asked.

"Has to be a third player. We don't know what kind of organization we've got here, but it's not just one person. It's definitely three different calling cards. All we can say for sure is that it's totally unorganized."

"What makes you so sure of everything?" Nightwing asked petulantly. He was jealous that Bruce Wayne had stepped back so easily and so quickly into his role in Gotham, especially when Blake had to work so hard to be taken seriously.

"I was there when the Joker was killed," Bruce told the two men on the rooftop. "I know he's dead."

"Is this Harley capable of what's been done?" Gordon asked.

"I've seen it first hand," Bruce told him. "In some ways, it's more ruthless than what he'd done. He had a motive: his victims were specifically chosen to be symbols. Like when he was targeting men who dressed like the Batman. But Harley, her first victims were to impress _him_. She was obsessed with him. And now, she definitely has no pattern. She's being aggressive and taking out strangers with no connection to her."

"How do you know they have no connection?"

"The last ones, where the graffiti was left, that was by chance. I suspect they were merely witnesses. She was studying to be a psychologist. She wouldn't have had a lot of connections to the street kids of Gotham."

"Not unless one of the other cohorts had a connection," Nightwing said.

Bruce nodded.

"That is something you'll have to explore," Bruce said. "My days in the suit are over."

Movement on a rooftop a half a mile away caught all of their attentions. A figure, moving very quickly was jumping to another rooftop. Bruce knew instantly who it was.

"It's time I headed home."

By the time the other two men had turned back, Bruce was gone.

"How does he do that?"

…

To Be Continued…


	8. Chapter 8

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Eight

As quickly as Bruce moved to get home that night, Selina had already beaten him there. In fact, she was already back in bed where he thought he'd left her.

Bruce knew he had a couple of options: he could play along, but why would she have been out where he could see her? So, his other option was to confront her.

"Selina," he said softly.

She stirred, barely.

"Selina," he repeated.

Selina pretended to wake up. He would have almost believed her act, too, if she would have been snoring.

"You're back," she said, shifting to sit up in the bed.

Bruce turned on the light and both of them blinked into the light before their eyes adjusted.

"So are you," he said.

"What?" she said.

"I'm not stupid, Selina. No one can run rooftops like that. Like you," he said. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Well, I figured Blake would be joining you and Gordon. So, I went out to make sure there wasn't anything happening," Selina told him.

Bruce stared at his wife in disbelief.

"Are you sure you're the Selina Kyle I married?" he asked her. "Are you feeling all right?" Bruce sat down on the edge of the bed and felt her forehead.

Selina smacked his hand away. "Cut it out."

"What's going on with you?" he asked. "You can tell me…anything."

"I had a hunch on who the criminal masterminds are behind the murders. You're right. It's Harley Quinn. But you'll never guess who she's working with," Selina told him.

"Selina, I don't want to…"

"Don't want me to what? Be a part of your super-secret club? I'm the _president_ of the Batman fan club, remember?" She held up her hand and pointed to her wedding ring on the other hand. "And you can't go out. So one of us had to, because Blake is comically awful at his new job."

"All right. Who is Harley working with now?" he said calmly.

"Pamela Isley."

Bruce shook his head. He had no idea who Selina was talking about.

"Seriously? The woman who built the thing for Wayne Enterprises. The desert thing. She also killed Josef…"

It finally registered who Selina was talking about. But it didn't really make any sense.

"She was just a simple…"

"She's part plant now. I saw it with my own eyes. They're headquartered in a run-down factory in the south side."

"What?" Bruce asked. "How could she be part plant?"

"How the hell would I know?"

"How do you know more about this in one night than Blake knows?"

"Because bird-boy is an idiot," Selina said. "He's sidekick material, at best, Bruce."

"I'll just go put a suit together then…" he trailed off.

"The hell you will," she told him sternly.

"We'll work with him."

"But he'll never be an actual replacement for you," Selina said. "He's going to get himself killed. He has a short fuse and no real-life experience. I know you see something in him…"

"I do, yes," Bruce said.

Selina took Bruce's face in her hands. "But he will never be you. And that's what made Batman the legend…"

"You think I'm a legend?" he interrupted her with a smile.

"Relax," she replied, a smile appearing on her face as well.

"You should answer my question," Bruce told her.

"Of course the Batman is a legend, Bruce. Because of many things. And Blake thought he could put on a suit and live up to that, and that is so not the way…"

"What is really wrong, Selina?"

"I hate this city," Selina said. "It wasn't perfect in Italy, but it was damn near close. I had forgotten, or at least pushed it deep away, all the things that had happened here. And here I am, being dangled face-first into my past."

Bruce knew she was telling part of the truth, but he could tell Selina was still holding back.

"And…?"

"And what?" she replied.

"There's something else. What is it?"

"Don't let Gordon and Blake talk you into doing this again. I can't lose you. They _all_ let you sacrifice yourself for this ridiculous city once. Even I did it. But the hell if I do it again. It's my turn."

"Don't take this personally, but that's the stupidest thing you've ever said," Bruce told her.

"I am not going to let you kill yourself for this damn city. You fix Wayne Enterprises, get it going, okay. And I am going to take down Harley."

Bruce cocked an eyebrow.

"Put her in Arkham, of course," Selina told him.

"And what about Isley? And there has to be a third party. You're going to take care of everyone on your own?" he asked, not that he didn't believe her, but…

"You have to trust me. And you know I love you, right?" Selina asked.

"Why do I feel like this is a trap?"

"You aren't going to like what I have to do," she told him.

"And what's that?" he asked as he pulled her into his lap.

"Well, I'm going to go see my friend Edward Nigma…"

"Oh," Bruce replied coldly.

Bruce thought back to the last time they'd had an encounter with Nigma. He'd kissed Selina. Bruce was not fond of that.

"Don't be like that…"

"Like what?"

"Like you're being right now. He'll know what's going on. He's usually doing business around the area where these murders are happening."

"And now that everyone knows that we're married, what makes you think he'll just talk to you?"

"I'm going to lie. And tell them I married you for the money. They'll believe me," Selina told him.

"I think that's what worries me the most," he said.

Bruce put his head down on Selina's shoulder.

"I don't want being back in Gotham to tear us apart," he said quietly.

"Don't worry," Selina said. "You're stuck with me."

"Good," he told her as he flipped her over onto her back and hovered over her.

Selina reached up and pressed her lips to his.

"You looked amazing while you were doing your thing," he told her as she helped him remove his clothing.

"Well, give me a few more minutes and we'll see how you feel," she purred into his ear.

…

"What the hell is Catwoman?" Ivy said as she watered some tropical looking plants around her. She'd had to do some serious work, but she had brightened up the rundown building.

"Do you really have to _pet_ the flowers?" he asked.

"They like it," Ivy replied. "They're my babies."

"You could really just have an actual baby and you wouldn't…"

"Says the fool in a green leotard with punctuation all over it," Ivy spat back. "Criticize my children once more and you'll be the next victim of Poison Ivy," she told him, her lips barely an inch from his.

"Will the two-a-yous shut up?" a high-pitched voice called. "I can't hear myself think!"

"Right, us quieting down will help you concentrate on the voices yelling in your head."

"I'm not crazy!" she screamed.

"Did anyone say you were crazy?" Edward asked.

"Mr. Question Man, you should just shut the hell up or I'm gonna…"

Edward stood to his full height. He had almost a foot on her.

"What?" he looked down at her. "What are you going to do to me?"

"I could gut you while you watch. Mr. J taught me that. It's like a fish only a bigger scale. Get it? Fish? Scale?"

Neither Edward or Poison Ivy laughed.

"That was funny!" she shouted.

"Whatever," she said, not phased by Harley Quinn's crazy. He'd known her…well…the Joker. And while the Joker was crazy and dangerous, Harley was mostly just annoying as hell. And now that the Joker was dead, well, she'd gotten delusional. Edward was fairly certain he'd heard her talking to "Mr. J" in her room at night.

Some of the murders had been actually committed by her they were messy. And had been small potato.

But it was good practice. Because their next targets were much larger. Taking out some of the board members of Wayne Enterprises would not only be fun, but it was earning them a hefty sum of cash from an anonymous donor.

Since he'd been working for Wayne Enterprises for about nine months, he could definitely understand why someone would want the board dead. And no one outside of this room knew he was the Riddler. During the day, he was simply Edward Nigma. No one had a more boring cover. It was perfect.

"Neither of you has answered my question," Ivy said as she fed one of her Venus fly traps.

"That's disgusting," Harley said, her face screwed up. "Do ya hafta do that in fronta us?"

"This is where he lives. And he's hungry," she said in a baby-voice.

"Did that thing just burp?" Edward asked.

Ivy looked up through her long red eyelashes. "Yes," she replied. "Get over it."

"Catwoman used to be one of us," Edward told Ivy. "And then she found the other side and married Bruce Wayne."

"What?" Ivy said, spinning suddenly and almost knocking over her precious plant.

"Selina Kyle is Catwoman," Edward said.

"And she's married to Bruce Wayne?" Ivy asked.

"Yes," he said slowly.

"She should be dead. The bullet went through her. I saw it!" Harley snarled. "How do _you_ know her?" she asked Edward.

"I dated her," Edward said.

…

To Be Continued…


	9. Chapter 9

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Nine

Selina Kyle casually strolled into the dark apartment. It wasn't much; just some ugly pieces of furniture and some room-darkening curtains and shades.

She'd come in through the kitchen door first and found exactly what she'd suspected. The sink was piled high with dishes and after peering in the fridge and finding a couple beers, a carton of milk, and a couple slices of cheese, she shook her head.

This guy needed help.

It certainly wasn't going to her, because she was too busy keeping Bruce from helping the kid, but someone could probably help. Maybe.

She stepped carefully into the cramped living room and then found two more doors. One had to be the bathroom and the other was the bedroom. Selina opened the door and found she'd chosen correctly.

"Rise and shine, b…" she trailed off upon finding that Blake wasn't alone in his bed.

Both people, Blake and an unknown redhead, blinked angrily at her.

"Oops!" Selina smiled.

"John, who _is_ that?" the woman mumbled into his shoulder as she rolled away from the light coming in from the doorway.

"I'm a friend of Blake's," Selina replied. "And I do believe we had arranged to start now?" she said to Blake.

He groaned. It sounded remarkably like Bruce right there.

"You were the one who picked the time. And it's already eleven."

"AM?" Blake asked.

"Right. It's eleven _PM_. That's why the sun is shining around your ridiculous room darkening shades. What are you? A vampire?"

"Make her go away, John."

"He's been trying to do that for a while, sweetie, and it hasn't worked yet," Selina smirked.

Blake finally sat up in the bed. He was shirtless and Selina got a good look in the dim light at a jagged scar on his side.

"I _do_ have to go," he told his bedmate.

"Nooo," she mumbled half-asleep before snoring softly.

"Kept her up late past her bedtime?" Selina teased.

Blake stood and gave her a dirty look.

"Oh, dear lord, put some pants on," she said, covering her eyes.

"Get out of my bedroom, then," he groused as he pulled on a pair of sweatpants.

"I'm still slightly curious about the girl…"

"Well, since she's asleep, she won't be able to tell you much," he said as he pushed Selina out of the room and closed the door.

Selina was still smirking when they got out into the kitchen.

"You doing that Big Brother program? Because I don't think you're allowed to do that…"

"She's 21," he spat back at her.

"You did keep her up past her bedtime," Selina replied. "How'd you get a girl that cute to come back to a shithole like this?"

"I can be convincing," Blake said. "And she's my girlfriend."

Selina held up her hands in defeat. "Oh, my bad," she said sarcastically. "Who is she?"

"Barbara…Gordon," he answered slowly.

"As in, a relation of Commissioner Gordon?" Selina smirked.

"His daughter."

"Holy shit. I thought _I_ had issues. Does she know?"

"That she's Gordon's kid? Um, yeah."

"Smart ass. No, does she know about you…"

Blake shook his head.

"This trip back just keeps getting better," Selina said. "Why don't you have any food?" she asked as she rifled through the cabinets so she could get him some breakfast.

"Job doesn't pay so good," he replied around a mouthful of milk straight from the carton.

"Come on," she said. "We'll get you carbo-loaded at the place on the way."

"Where are we going?"

"I know a place where we can work and we won't be interrupted."

…

Blake looked up at the ceiling as he lay flat on his back. Selina Kyle, aka the Catwoman, aka Batman's wife, had taken him down again. He wasn't sure if he was angry or disappointed. Or if he was ever going to get up again.

"Get up! We'll try it again," Selina called.

She had brought him back to the penthouse, where Bruce had quickly put together a space specifically for this. They were up higher than most buildings in Gotham, so there wouldn't be any danger of anyone seeing them.

Blake hoisted himself up again and put himself into a fight stance. He was good at taking down the bad guys that weren't trained fighters. He could call on his police training for that. But anyone who'd had any martial arts training whatsoever was definitely harder to take on. And Selina Kyle was definitely in that group.

Selina surprised him again and once more, he was down on the mat.

"Good form," a male voice called. "But once you start to think you know where your opponent's next hit will be, you get cocky. A skilled fighter will know you're getting cocky," Bruce said from his place leaning against the wall. "Selina is one of those fighters who will use that against you."

Blake sighed. He really hadn't gotten any sleep last night and now he was getting his ass handed to him by a woman he'd once put in jail.

"Don't be afraid to hit me," Selina said as she extended a hand to help him up. "I'm not going to break because _you_ hit me."

"Can we take a break so I can ask you both some questions?" Blake asked. "Since I know that this place is safe?"

Selina looked to her husband who nodded and joined them both further into the room.

Bruce handed each of them a bottle of water before pressing a kiss to Selina's semi-sweaty temple.

"What questions do you have?" Bruce said, sitting in one of the chairs. Selina joined him and sat down in Bruce's lap.

"What happened to the Joker?"

"I thought we covered that; he's dead," Selina replied coldly.

"Batman doesn't kill," Blake replied.

"The Batman didn't," Bruce replied matter-of-factly.

Blake looked to Selina. "You, then?"

Selina pretended to be offended at the idea. "Why does it have to me then? Why couldn't' the crazy man have blown himself up?"

"Because he _wouldn't_ have done that," Blake said. "I've read his files at Arkham. So what really happened?"

"He was shot," Selina said. "Shot and killed, all right?"

"You didn't do it?"

Selina stood up and marched up to him. "See this?" she showed him the scar on her shoulder. "Bullet went through me and into the Joker. I _did not_ shoot myself; so don't suggest it."

"Selina, calm down,' Bruce said very calmly. He was still seated.

"I just don't know why the kid is so concerned with the Joker, who isn't a problem anymore. We have real people causing problems now and one of them is bat shit crazy," Selina said. "No pun intended," she added. "And you fight like a cop. If you're going to do this, you need to fight a little dirty. Don't tell me you're going easy on me because I'm a woman. Remember? I'm the one who kidnapped the senator and lied to you about it."

She was in Blake's face, egging him on.

"Come on, kid. Show me you aren't just a sidekick…show me what Nightwing's got."

She was purring the words into his ear, doing what she did best.

Bruce saw it immediately. Blake snapped and it was clear in his eyes, even at a distance.

He grabbed Selina's left arm, the one she'd shown she had a weakness in and wrenched it.

Bruce saw the pain on Selina's face, did not make a sound. She brought her leg up to try to push him away, but he deflected it.

Selina kept putting up a good fight, but a couple swift maneuvers later, Selina was pinned to the floor.

Both Blake and Selina were breathing hard, staring into one another's eyes.

"Good," she said hoarsely as he had his forearm across her windpipe.

Blake regained control of himself a second later and he helped Selina to her feet.

Bruce crossed the room and joined them.

"Your wife is aggravating," Blake told Bruce.

He nodded and smiled. "I know," he said. "What else do you have planned today?"

"He needs food. His fridge has some cheese and beer."

"You're going to have to cut alcohol out of your diet," Bruce told him.

Blake blinked. He couldn't believe that no one had addressed what had just occurred between him and Selina Kyle. And it didn't appear that they were going to talk about it.

"He's got a girlfriend, too," Selina smiled.

"Did you have to tell him?" Blake asked like a petulant child.

"Do you really think Bruce wasn't going to find out," Selina asked.

"Barbara Gordon," Bruce replied, almost disinterestedly. Selina laughed. "Alfred can make sure Blake gets groceries..."

"I can get my own food," Blake said. "And how did you…"

Bruce simply looked at Blake.

"Right," Blake replied quietly.

"Okay, same time, same place, tomorrow, birdboy," Selina said. "You did good today. I just don't want to have to work so hard to rile you up next time," she said.

"Selina," Bruce said, his voice bordering on the Batman growl. "Alfred will make sure you get home, Blake."

"Bruce, why are you rushing him out?"

"We have some things we need to take care of," Bruce said. "Just the two of us."

"Oh," Selina smiled.

Blake made a face.

"Some work issues," Bruce added.

…

To be Continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Hullo, folks! I just wanted to say thank you to each and every one of you! Today was a rough day and updating this chapter for you (and me) made me feel a lot better.

I also wanted to thank everyone for the reviews. I do appreciate the feedback.

And, as a note, I wanted ya'll to know who I am picturing for Edward Nigma/the Riddler…Matthew Bomer. I know most people won't agree with me, but I am standing firm. I think he'd be a really clever and suprising Riddler. Okay, enough from me and on to the story…

…

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Ten

Bruce Wayne had been pacing for what felt like an eternity. He glanced at the clock for the fifteenth time. It had only been an hour since she'd left.

But a lot of things could happen in an hour. Bruce knew how much because he'd caused a lot of it in the past.

He trusted Selina. But it didn't stop him from worrying about her.

It was another two hours before Selina strolled back into the penthouse. Bruce was immediately at her side.

"Oh, did you miss me?" she purred as she sat down in a chair.

"Selina," he growled. It was his full, no-nonsense Batman voice. It stopped Selina's smirk immediately.

"Would you relax?" she said. "I'm fine, okay?"

"I want to know exactly what happened," he told her.

"Knowing you as well as I do, I am extremely surprised that you weren't following me."

"You told me not to," Bruce replied.

"Since when do you let that stop you? Neither one of us has a knack for following directions," Selina said as she slid one of her tall black boots off of her leg. She moved on to the next, but Bruce kneeled down and put his hand on the zipper. He slowly zipped it down, from thigh to ankle, without breaking eye contact with his wife.

"I can follow instructions when it counts," he said quietly.

"Touche," Selina replied.

He slid the boot off of her foot the rest of the way and Selina reflexively stretched out her toes. Despite wearing those boots often, they never got any more comfortable.

"Tell me the details. Did you meet with Nigma?" Bruce said, almost spitefully.

"I _did_ meet with Eddie," Selina said. "And he's weirder than he used to be, if that is even possible…" she trailed off.

"Lina," Bruce said almost desperately.

"Can I change my clothes first? And then I promise to run through the whole encounter," she asked.

The pained look on Bruce's face said otherwise, but he got up and out of the way so she could go to the bedroom to change.

A couple minutes later, Selina emerged from the room and Bruce was sitting silently still as he waited.

"Did he touch you?" he finally asked as she found herself a drink from the sideboard. She figured she deserved one after the night she'd had.

"No, Bruce. Edward Nigma did not touch me. I _did_ have a rather enlightening conversation with him and the nutjob formerly known as Pamela Isely…who now refers to herself as Poison Ivy."

"What?"

"Nigma works for you and Isely _used_ to work for you. Well, I guess not for you, for your company."

"Wayne Enterprises hired Edward Nigma?" Bruce asked. "When?"

"Six years ago," Selina said. "He's a computer genius," Selina offered to Bruce as an explanation.

"I'm surprised Lucius hasn't flagged him," Bruce replied.

"Edward Nigma doesn't have a criminal record. Never been collared for anything. Fox wouldn't bother. Besides, you're the one he has it out for…"

"How does he have a clean record?" Bruce asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"Just because he runs in some interesting circles…"

"_Interesting circles?"_ Bruce asked. "That's one way to put it."

"Eddie has always been a behind the scenes kind of guy. And I'm… I don't want to say _lucky_, but I'm lucky…that he's talking to me at all. I haven't always been so nice to him," Selina explained.

"Hm," Bruce replied.

Selina shook her head. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" he asked.

"Don't brood. Believe me, I'm not leaving you for Edward Nigma, for any reason. He might have beautiful eyes…but he's kind of a nerd. That's why I broke up with him in the first place," Selina explained.

"Beautiful eyes?"

"He has mesmerizing eyes and…" she trailed off, realizing what she was about to divulge to her husband. "Never mind."

"Could I trouble you to get back to your tale of the evening?" Bruce asked, clearly annoyed.

"Fine," Selina hissed back at him. "I dropped in on him and the crazy plant lady in their little fortress. Luckily, Harley wasn't there; she probably woulda blown me up. Eddie was a bit surprised to see me, needless to say…because you almost killed him the last time I saw him."

"I did not."

Selina rolled her eyes, but continued on. "I reintroduced myself to Poison Ivy. I told her that I liked her work. Josef probably would have killed me that night."

"Selina! Get to the point!" Bruce yelled. She'd danced around it all long enough and he'd had it.

"You know, you really need to relax," Selina told him in an angry tone. "And no matter what I tell you, you will not be running out into the night to defend Gotham, all right?" she said. "You promised me."

"I know I did," Bruce said, his voice calm again.

"I don't know how much about their plans, because they don't trust me yet, but this is big, Bruce."

"How big?"

"Funded by Lex Luthor big," she told him.

"Shit," Bruce replied. "I hate that guy."

"Well, he obviously isn't in love with you either. Apparently, he's been scheming for years against you. It's against Bruce Wayne, not the Batman. I, for sure, thought Luthor would be too busy trying to kill that Superman guy to bother with you."

"Well, the dealings I've had with Luthor go further back than Superman."

"We could have just stayed in Italy…" she said. "Instead, we're back in Gotham, hanging out with a bunch of your enemies. Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and the Riddler…"

Bruce gave her a silently incredulous look.

"What? That's what he's calling himself."

"So, what's next? Someone dressed in a penguin suit?"

"You have some serious issues."

"That's putting it delicately," Alfred said as he walked into the room. "The both of you could be quieter."

"I'm sorry, Alfred," Selina said.

"So, I couldn't help but overhear. Master Bruce has his fair share of enemies, but I would advise you both to make sure you separate those that are enemies of Batman from Bruce Wayne's enemies. As hard at it is to believe, not all of them are enemies of you both."

Selina nodded. He had a point.

"Well, you can worry about Luthor. Blake and I…"

"You and Blake?" Bruce asked.

"The kid needs help. Blake and I will take down Eddie, Isley, and Harley and we'll get them in Arkham where they belong. Although, I think I'm going to have that hat stuffed and mounted for our mantel."

Both Alfred and Bruce stared at her.

"She won't be an issue much longer," Selina purred conspiratorially. "You just do what you came here for, Bruce," she said. "Don't worry about anything else."

…

"She was here?" Harley squeaked angrily. "In my house? And you let her leave alive?"

"Came to pay me a visit," Edward said offhandedly.

"And why would she want anything to do with a lowlife loser like you?" Harley spat at him.

"Because Ivy and I worked it all out. We were ready for her; I knew she'd be curious. And curiosity is going to kill the cat," he replied, a sly grin on his face.

"She won't know what hit her," Ivy smiled seductively. "The poison will first drive her crazy before it renders her totally useless. And we'll be able to use her in the meantime."

…

To Be Continued….


	11. Chapter 11

Howdy folks, thanks for patiently waiting for this next installment…and here it is! Thank you all for the kind words after the last chapter! Hopefully, you'll enjoy what's happening in this particular tale!

…

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Eleven

Selina woke up and stared at the ceiling. She'd been dreaming and now her heart was pounding in her chest. Bruce was still sleeping soundly next to her, so she carefully climbed out of bed and left the bedroom behind her.

Selina knew precisely where she needed to go. The roof. Keeping her ears open, she listened to make sure Bruce wasn't following her. She wanted to be alone.

At three AM, there was still an eerie glow coming off of the city. Lights were _always_ on in Gotham City.

It had been two weeks since she'd met with Eddie and Pamela Isley. And something since then had been nagging at her, but she couldn't figure it out.

Gotham was cool this time of the year. Usually September in Gotham meant an oppressive heat and then in October, the kids would be lucky if they didn't have to wear snowboots to go trick-or-treating.

Selina walked right over to the edge of the building and surveyed the street below. Heights hadn't ever bothered her. But her mom and sister had a horrible fear of them. It was weird the things that she remembered about them.

She continued her walk around the perimeter of the roof and she stopped when she found a metal box hidden in the shadows. Crouching down, she pulled it to her and opened it.

She gasped.

Gold, silver, platinum and gem stones of all colors stared back at her. The box was half-full of jewelry and expensive trinkets of all kinds, shapes and sizes. Immediately, a memory flashed into Selina's mind. She was breaking into someone's apartment. She was taking their things.

In the flash, she saw a reflection in the mirror and it was definitely her.

Selina slammed the lid back on the box and shoved it away. What was going on? Why could she only remember bits and pieces? And if she was disappearing in the middle of the night, how had Bruce not noticed?

Putting the box back where it had been, she went back to the stairs and went to work in Bruce's office. She was going to figure out what was wrong.

…

Bruce Wayne climbed out of bed and stretched. Selina was not in bed, but that didn't surprise him. Since being back in Gotham, she'd become an early riser. He wasn't sure why, but it happened.

He immediately headed for the shower. There was a board meeting at Wayne Enterprises and he wanted to make his presence know in light of the seemingly generous offer from Luthor. All of these board members except Lucius Fox, thought he was a party boy who never grew up and squandered his family's money. They thought he ruined his father's legacy. How could he expect them to be loyal? Now was his chance to show them that he'd changed.

And if they didn't believe him, they _would_ believe a vendetta against Luthor. Everyone knew they'd been friends a long time ago and there had been a falling out. It wasn't going to be nearly as difficult as jumping off of a building without a parachute.

If none of that worked, well, he could have Lucius fire all of them. Although, he'd much prefer to go the non-drama route.

He climbed into the shower and the water blasted onto his body. He winced in pain as it hit his back. The water wasn't that hot, so he stepped out of the shower and looked at his back in the mirror.

There were eight nearly identical scratches running parallel down the length of his back.

He grinned and shook his head. He should have known it was caused by Selina. They'd had a lot of fun last night.

Once he was dressed and ready to go, he realized he still hadn't seen or heard from Selina.

Bruce found Alfred in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Alfred," Bruce said.

"Good morning, Master Bruce," Alfred replied. "Selina elected to sleep late this morning?" he asked, noting it was now nine AM. It was late for her.

"I was hoping you'd know where she was," Bruce said. "She wasn't in bed when I got up."

Alfred shook his head. "I haven't seen or heard her this morning."

"Well, that doesn't make me feel good," Bruce said.

He pulled out his cell phone and called his wife's phone. Bruce heard the ringing and found it in his purse in the hallway.

"She has to still be here," Bruce told Alfred. "She never leaves without this thing," he said as he smiled at the background picture of them at the house in Italy.

Systematically, the two men started to search the penthouse. And in the last room left, Bruce found Selina curled up asleep on the couch in his office.

Bruce crouched down and stroked his wife's cheek. She gently stirred, but made no real move to wake up.

"Selina?" he said softly.

She opened an eye and immediately panicked. Where was she?

"Calm down, calm down," Bruce told her. "Why are you sleeping in here?" he asked.

Selina couldn't remember. She'd remembered waking up from a nasty dream in the middle of the night, but until now, everything was a blur.

"I have no idea," She said honestly. "I must have gone in here after I woke up from the dream I'd been having. But I don't really remember."

"You don't look like you're feeling so well. You're kind of pale. Maybe I should stay home and take you to the doctor. I can miss the board…"

"No, Bruce. I'm fine and you absolutely _have_ to go to the board meeting," she told him. "I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well. Your couch is lumpy. Who picked this out?" she said, trying to detract from her.

"What if I told you my mom picked it out?"

"I'd call you a liar," Selina said.

"There's my girl," Bruce said. But while she sounded a lot like Selina, there was something very obviously bothering her. And Bruce felt guilty because he didn't have the time to stay home and take care of her.

"Go, you're going to be late, Bruce," Selina said.

He nodded and kissed her on the cheek.

"Shall I drive you, sir?" Alfred asked.

"No, no. I think you'd better stay here with Selina. Let Alfred take care of you."

Selina shot him a dirty look as he and Alfred walked out of the room.

"She listens to you better than me, would you try to get her to see a doctor?" Bruce asked. "Something isn't right."

"I shall ask her, but I'm not promising you anything," Alfred told Bruce. "Go to your meeting and impress them with how smart you are instead of how loudly you can snore."

Alfred ushered the man out the door and closed it behind Bruce and looked at Selina from the doorway. She looked lost in thought as if trying to remember a long-forgotten piece of information.

"Selina?" he asked, attempting to bring her back to the present.

Selina came out of her trance and looked at Alfred.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong or are you going to force me to guess?"

"I don't know that you'd be able to guess this," Selina said.

"Are you…pregnant?" he asked tentatively.

"No," Selina gulped. "Life would be a hell of a lot easier if I was."

"Well, what else would it be?" Alfred said.

"I made the mistake of googling my symptoms?" he asked. "It could be any number of things…"

"And what are your symptoms?" he asked. "And don't ever look things like that up on the internet."

"I'm missing huge chunks of my memory. I can remember my childhood. Its recent things, like last night. I can't remember anything aside from looking stuff up on the computer. I remember seeing the clock at three-o-three and then again at three-fifty-three. And I don't remember getting to the office during that time. It's been happening for the last week and a half. You can't tell Bruce. I need to figure everything out. He's got other things to worry about. He doesn't need this too."

…

"I know Luthor is offering a hell of a lot of money to buy you all out; to effectively purchase Wayne Enterprises. But he's not going to do anything with the company, he wants to destroy it. Because it's my family's name," Bruce explained.

"I think you have to put aside your past with Mr. Luthor. He saw Wayne Enterprises as floundering…when you _abandoned_ it. Not that you were too terribly involved when you were here anyway. But Mr. Luthor _does_ want to do something with this company, you should have taken the time to read the proposal provided…" a grey-haired man said.

"Besides, you faked your death. The will was read. And…you lost all that money…"

"You know as well as I do that my fingerprints were stolen and the funds were released without my permission. I may be a lot of things, but I would never do that to the company my father built," he said sincerely. "The final vote is in three weeks. Please at least consider my option."

"And what's that, Mr. Wayne?" a blue-haired lady asked haughtily.

Bruce resisted the urge to bang his fist on the table. He'd played the part of the playboy too well. No one wanted to believe him.

But he wasn't going to let something small like this stop him.

…

"Mrs. Wayne, I don't know what to tell you," the doctor told her as he sat down on the stool opposite her.

She's been so scared at the prospect of losing her mind that she let Alfred take her to a doctor.

"What is it?" Selina said, trying to read the man's face.

"There is nothing wrong with you. We did a full work up. We did the brain scan at your insistence. And we can't find a cause."

"Nothing?" she asked.

"Well, it might be…psychological," he told her softly.

"You are telling me that I'm crazy?" she asked. "Like, _actually _crazy?"

"Not _crazy_. But your problems might be stress-induced. You're married to a notorious…" he trailed off. "Well, let's say he comes with a reputation…"

"He's not like that."

"Well, regardless, you were living a fairly anonymous lifestyle, based on what you described to me, Mrs. Wayne. And now you've come back to Gotham City and have become the center of attention and scrutiny. Moving in and of itself is stressful enough. Having photographers follow you everywhere would be enough to be a stressor," the doctor explained.

"And what would be your suggestion to lower my stress?" Selina asked in annoyed tone.

"Well," the doctor began. "Is divorce an option?" he smirked, attempting to make a joke.

"I don't find that funny."

What was she going to do?

…

To Be Continued…


	12. Chapter 12

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Twelve

"Thank you for meeting me," Jim Gordon said as he approached the waiting Bruce Wayne. It was just after two in the morning and truthfully, the last thing Bruce wanted to do was leave his nice, warm wife and his nice, warm bed.

He was worried about her. Selina told him that she was fine; that she'd been checked out and was healthy. But he knew she was lying.

And Alfred was a wall of silence on the matter. No amount of cajoling or begging or threatening would get his oldest friend to tell him any information that he had.

"I hear you're doing a lot of work with Wayne Enterprises," Gordon said nervously.

"I'd like to keep Lex Luthor out of my company and out of Gotham City. He's got Metropolis to screw up," Bruce replied. "What is this really about, Commissioner?"

"I wanted to talk to you before the GCPD went forward and public with this information. In addition to the murders, which have been on hiatus the last couple of weeks…"

"Commissioner Gordon," Bruce said. "Just tell me."

"We have an unidentified female, in all black, breaking into high-rise apartments. There have been reports of this female scaling the walls at impossible heights. All of the homeowners were on vacation at the time and they're all missing high ticket, yet small in overall size, items. Expensive, heirloom jewelry and trinkets. So far, we have at least a dozen reports."

Bruce's face, though partially obstructed in the shadows, was screwed up in total anger.

"You think Selina is doing this? Just when exactly do you think she has the time?"

"Mr. Wayne…Bruce…calm down. I'm not accusing her of anything! But it _is_ a little odd that all of a sudden these high-profile break-ins started once she returned to Gotham. They had all but ceased in the time she was gone from the city," Gordon explained. "She's not in the system; she's been wiped clean, although I think you probably already knew that. But some of us remember her."

"I can't believe that you called me out in the middle of the night to actually accuse Selina of this. This is total bull shit, Commissioner. She's changed! And she sleeps next to me _every night_. She…" he trailed off.

He wanted to believe that Selina had changed. In fact, he _knew_ it. But something was definitely up with her; something was not right. Doubt began to creep into Bruce's mind.

"It isn't Selina, so just take her right off the suspect list," Bruce said, in attempt to convince both himself and the Commissioner. "I should go," Bruce said and in an instant he was gone.

Bruce went home, but he did not go back to sleep. Selina was still fast asleep in the bed. He checked his watch; he'd only been gone half an hour. There was no way she could have been out tonight.

But for some reason, he still wasn't totally convinced.

He walked back out of the bedroom to the office. His first task was to search the computer for its internet browser history.

As he started to find what he was looking for, it really bothered him that all of the sites Selina visited were medical sites. And all of them were covering the topic of memory loss, blacking out, and losing time. Nothing was making sense and she had simply told him that she was fine. Clearly, she wasn't.

Bruce's next course of action as to hack into the police station's computer database. He wanted to know which homes had been burgled. He knew he was a fairly heavy sleeper, but he thought he would notice Selina creeping out of bed and back that many times.

An hour later, one of his monitors had a digital map of Gotham highlighting each one of the locations that had reported a break-in. Each had a line connecting it to their penthouse, showing the distance.

If she was quick, and she was, and made no other stops, Selina could very easily make it to and from these apartments in a very short amount of time. That did not make him happy.

"What are you doing?" Selina asked tiredly from the doorway behind him.

Bruce had expected to turn around and find his wife dressed in her catsuit. But when he finally turned around to meet her eyes, she was still dressed in her pajamas.

"Just doing some research," he said. "I couldn't sleep."

She moved closer to the screen and Bruce made no movements to cover up what he'd been doing.

"I thought you weren't going to do any of this shit anymore!" she yelled. "You promised me!" Selina said as she took it all in.

"Well, you promised me you were done with your shit, too," he said coldly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Selina spat back in his face.

Bruce slowly rose to his feet and stood mere inches away from his wife.

"There have been at least a dozen break-ins, exactly like what you used to do," Bruce said. "What do you know about them?"

"I don't know anything about them!" Selina replied. "You're really accusing me of this?" she said, her worst fear coming true. Was she really doing this and losing that time?

"Why were you researching memory loss?" he asked, his angry face softening slightly. "And what did the doctor really say?"

"I'm losing time, Bruce," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I can't remember things. And…" she looked down at their feet.

Bruce put his hand under her chin and brought her eyes back up to his.

"What?"

"I think I should just show you," she said. "Follow me."

Bruce followed behind his wife as she led him to the roof of their building. She led him to the far corner of the roof, and bent down to pull out a partially hidden metal box.

"Open it," she said.

Bruce gave her one last look before removing the lid of the box. He didn't really know what to expect, but it he definitely didn't expect to find the box of jewelry and trinkets that he found.

He looked back up at her, his face a mixture of anger, surprise and plain sadness. Why was she back to doing this?

Selina, usually calm and collected, was openly sobbing in the moonlight that was filtering through the clouds above them. She didn't know what else to do. She knew from that instant the Bruce wasn't going to believe a single thing she said to him.

Bruce stood to his full height and put his hands on her shoulders. "Why are you doing this? I thought…I thought we were past all this. That we were building a life together?" he asked.

"Bruce, I wish I had an answer for you. But I don't even _remember_ going to do this. I don't remember leaving the penthouse. I don't remember being in anyone else's apartment."

"Then how the hell did all this get here!?" he shouted at her.

He started pacing back and forth. This was the woman he trusted above everyone else in the world and now she was lying to him.

"Bruce, you _have_ to believe me," she said. "I've done a lot of stupid things in my life, but this…I _didn't do this_," she said, looking straight into his eyes.

He wanted to believe her so badly, because he loved her so damn much. But the facts were all there. There was a box of stolen jewelry on the roof of his building. And his wife was to blame.

Selina could tell that he wasn't ever going to believe her. She only had one option then. She was going to have to turn herself in.

Slowly, she turned away from her husband and headed for the stairs. There was no point hanging on now. Bruce had given up on her.

Bruce did not follow her as she left the roof.

…

Bruce stayed out on the roof of the building until the sun was coming up. He'd run a lot of different scenarios through his mind. All of them made him feel like not only a horrible person in general, but a horrible husband. Deep down, he knew Selina had changed. Something else was going on. He needed to go apologize.

He stood up from his seated position and headed down the stairs to find his wife. But she was gone.

Bruce checked every room before waking Alfred.

"Selina's gone!" Bruce panicked.

"Mrs. Wayne goes for a run almost every morning," Alfred said, yawning. "You know that."

"It's different this time. We had a fight. A big fight," Bruce said.

"You're saying that she's left you?" Alfred asked, shocked. That couldn't be happening.

"I…" Bruce started when the phone rang.

Alfred answered it and then turned to Bruce while all the color drained out of his face.

"It's Commissioner Gordon for you," he said, handing the phone to Bruce.

"Yes?" Bruce said. Bruce listened intently for almost three minutes, but despite the calm voice he was using to respond every so often, he could tell Bruce was getting so wound up he was about to explode. "I understand, thank you," he said before hanging up.

"Well?" Alfred asked.

"Gordon said that about an hour ago, Selina walked into the police department and surrendered herself. She told them that she was the thief that had been on the crime spree the last few weeks, breaking in to homes and places while the owners are on vacation. And there was one more thing…he was supposed to tell me that Selina is filing for divorce."

…

"Did you hear, Harley? Selina has turned herself in," Edward said as he flipped to the Gotham News Network on the television. "It's _all over_ the news."

"Perfect, she'll be a sitting duck when I go after her. I owe her for kicking my butt back in Italy," Harley said.

"It also says that she's filed for divorce," Edward said. "Look what you have done, Miss Quinn…you've ruined a family."

"Well, she isn't going to be much good to him once I get finished with her. There won't be too much left with her," Harley laughed maniacally.

"Does that mean that Wayne is single?" Poison Ivy asked in her sultry voice. "I owe him a few things, too."

"Could you knock it off for one stinkin' minute?" Harley said. "All you think about is s…"

"Will you both shut up?" Edward said as he turned the TV up. "Wayne is about to give a press conference.

...

Bruce didn't want to talk to the press. Ever. But especially not now. Not when his wife was in jail awaiting trial for something that she couldn't have done. And she was filing for divorce. He'd hurt her so bad that she not only couldn't stand to be married to him, she turned herself in for a crime she didn't commit.

"I'm going to make this short and sweet and I _will not_ be taking any questions. Yes, my wife, Selina Kyle-Wayne turned herself in this morning in connection to some burglaries that have been happening around Gotham City. And yes, my wife is filing for divorce. I'm hoping I can talk her out of doing both. I love my wife very much and _I know_ that this is all a mistake. I don't know if you're watching this Selina, but I know you and I know you didn't do this."

Without another word, Bruce nodded and headed away from the prying eyes of the people of Gotham and headed into the Gotham City Police Department where Selina was currently being held.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wayne, she doesn't want to see you," the clerk working the front desk told him. "And while we normally don't take requests of the incarcerated, she seemed really distraught when she came in."

"And you thought that a half-dressed, half-awake, emotional woman was in her right mind when she came to turn herself in for a crime that she didn't commit?" Bruce asked angrily.

"Mr. Wayne, I shouldn't tell you this, but we have a couple…physicians…working with her. They are evaluating her right now," the clerk told him.

"You're saying she's unstable?" Bruce asked, barely even able to make the words come out of his mouth.

"I'm not saying a thing," the clerk said before walking away.

…

To Be Continued…


	13. Chapter 13

The Bat and the Cat Come Back

Thirteen

"I don't think orange is your color," Bruce said in his growl.

He watched her jump. She somehow hadn't heard him walk towards her. Selina slowly turned around and met his eyes. She looked awful, and he hated thinking that.

Bruce thought for a moment she was going to have one of her trademark witty comebacks, but he was disappointed.

"You shouldn't be here," Selina told him. "Go away."

"I think you at least owe me one thing," he told her.

"What's that?" she asked from her side of the bars.

"Tell me you want a divorce to my face," he said, removing the balaclava he'd been wearing. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want to be married to me anymore and I'll sign the papers and have them to you tomorrow morning."

"Bruce…" she started. But she couldn't finish. She tried. It was for his own good, yet she couldn't say it.

But deep down, in the swimming confusion that was her mind, she knew she didn't do this and she really wasn't meant to be here.

"That's what I thought," Bruce told her.

"How did you get in her?" she asked him.

"…Batman…" he said quietly.

"Oh, right…" she said in a far away voice.

If it could be counted as lucky, Selina was in solitary confinement. The GCPD that remembered her, knew she could cause problems amongst the inmates, and to top it all off, she was a high-profile inmate. She was there for her own safety.

"Selina, you have to tell me what's going on," Bruce told her. "I can't help you unless you tell me everything."

Selina sighed deeply. "I don't know where to start…"

"When did you notice the memory loss?" Bruce asked as a jumping off point.

"Uh, about the time I came back from meeting with Nigma and Isley," she said. "Bruce, I don't remember doing any of that. I know I confessed to it, but I don't think I did it."

"I know you didn't do it. I'm sorry I didn't believe you earlier," Bruce told her. "I'll bail you out. After all, I owe you from way back," he smiled.

"I'm sorry I asked you for a divorce," Selina told him. "I just…if I did it…"

"You didn't. You couldn't have," Bruce said.

"How do you know?"

"Because I trust you," he told her. And I love you."

"They think I'm crazy," Selina told him. "I can't even have shoelaces."

"They do that for everyone," he told her. "Not to just you."

"I've seen two shrinks and I've only been here a day."

"You turned yourself in at 7 am in your pajamas," Bruce replied. "And you told Commissioner Gordon you wanted to divorce me."

"Oh, right…" she said in the far away voice again.

"And they're probably concerned about your memory loss. As am I. Have you…?"

"I've had a cat scan…no jokes…and all kinds of tests. The doctor couldn't find anything. He said it had to be stress-induced."

"Stress-induced?"

"Moving back to Gotham in the public eye. And the fact that I'm married to the infamous party boy Prince of Gotham."

"I wish I could shake that; I'm 40. I'm sorry, that's beside the point. So, you went to the doctor and they ran tests and they couldn't find anything?"

"Nothing."

"And it all started after your meeting with Poison Ivy?" he asked.

"Bruce, you can't…"

"I'm going to bail you out in the morning. Can you make it the rest of the night?"

"You…you aren't going out…you promised me!" Selina said, her face centimeters from the bar.

"I love you," he told her once more before he was gone.

…

"I'm sorry to impose on you, Lucius. I know it's very late…or early," Bruce said.

The two men were seated at the older man's kitchen table. Lucius was tired, but when Bruce called him, he didn't hesitate to invite him into the apartment. A lot had been going on in Bruce's life lately.

"I know Selina didn't do this," Bruce explained.

"I suspect you have a hunch on who has been up do it, though," Lucius told him.

"I think I _do_ know who is behind all this," Bruce told him.

"How can I help?" Lucius asked.

"Do you have a spare suit lying around?" he asked his friend.

Bruce knew he'd promised both Selina and Alfred both that the Batman was dead and gone. And it was going to be extremely difficult now that Gotham really thought he was gone, but…this was something he felt he had to do.

"How will Gotham react when the Bat has come back?" he asked Bruce.

"I don't care, to be totally honest. I have to protect my wife," Bruce said.

Lucius nodded. "I understand."

"I take it you _do_ have a suit for me?"

"I might even have one of the bikes laying around," he smiled.

…

"Wait…you're going out? It's like two in the morning," Blake said into the phone. The woman next to him barely stirred. He listened intently for a minute. "Okay, I'll be there in 15."

John Blake reluctantly climbed out of bed and left Barbara sleeping. Bruce Wayne had been pretty understandingly vague on the call, but it sounded like a bad idea.

Nonetheless, Blake got dressed and headed out.

…

"You're late," a voice growled from the computer desk on the platform.

When John rounded the corner, he found Bruce Wayne in half of his Batman suit. And for the first time, Blake really understood that Wayne was Batman all along.

"Couldn't find my keys," John said in response. "Is that one of the cycles? Fox won't let me have one."

"Good," Bruce replied.

"So, what's the plan here?" he asked Bruce. "You're just going to suddenly show up as Batman after being declared dead?"

"The idea is that _anyone_ could be Batman, Blake. The mask protects us, and our families, but it protects the idea, too."

"I get that," Blake said.

"And my wife and future family is a hell of a lot more important than protecting the idea that the Batman is dead. So, are you coming with me?"

"I'm in," Blake said.

…

Lights were still on at the compound that Harley, the Riddler, and Poison Ivy were using. It was a fairly good indication that people were still awake. And that meant their element of surprise was gone.

But it wasn't like Bruce was going to kick in the teeth of a sleeping man. He would have woken him up first.

Both the Batman and Nightwing approached the old factory building from the south wall. They used the grappling hooks and they were propelled to the roof. Bruce landed silently while Blake made a loud thud. Bruce shot him a look and Blake shrugged. He wasn't good at the landing part yet.

Even though it had been more than a year since he'd done this, it came right back to Bruce. He knew the risks but the rewards were so much more important.

"You really think that this Poison Ivy is who is causing Selina to forget things? How could she do that?"

"Quiet," Bruce growled.

Both men were silent. Voices drifted up through the broken skylight. Someone was yelling. Bruce could tell it wasn't on the level of the building immediately below them, but someone was definitely shouting.

The sounds were getting closer and Bruce motioned for Blake to find the shadows.

"I don't know why they sent us out here. There's nothing up here, Bill," a man's voice said as he came out onto the roof. A henchman, clearly.

"I know, Ted. There's nothing up here. It was probably just the building settling again," another voice said.

"Let's go," he motioned for the other man to follow him. But when he got no response he found he was all alone. "Bill?" he said.

He received no response back. Then suddenly something hit him in the leg and he went down with an audible thud. The kid really needed to get better at both his aim and his finesse with the bodies.

Bruce and Blake made quick work of tying the two men up and hid them in the shadows of the crumbling building.

Bruce moved first through the broken skylight and landed on the next floor swiftly. A pain shot through his bad knee, but he took a deep breath and moved out of the way so Blake could come down next. This time Blake landed equally as quietly and was grateful. He didn't think he could take another admonishment from the Batman.

More voices were coming towards them. At least six. It would be nothing. Bruce readied himself and when the men burst into the room, Bruce got the first swing.

The first man went down hard and the next man's first reaction was to cower at the sight of the Batman.

"It's Batman's ghost!" one man behind them yelled.

"You wish," Bruce growled before proceeding to start to fight several of the men at once.

Blake was working on the other couple, but the men were enormous and Blake hadn't strengthened himself. Besides, no matter how hard he tried, he would never be Bane's size.

However, Blake found his stride and sent one of the men crashing into the cement wall. The man slid down and laid in a heap on the floor.

Bruce pulled on man's arm back and twisted it. The man screamed in agony as the bone snapped. Bruce kicked the man away.

The other man came at Bruce and landed a kick to Bruce's bad knee. He went down on his other knee as the pain shot through his entire body. He focused his strength, though, and head-butted the opponent and Bruce knew he'd done some serious damage to the other man's jaw. It was good that the cowl he was wearing contained Kevlar.

Blake and Bruce were breathing hard when the seven, not six men were finally all down on the ground. No one else was rushing towards them and that meant one of two things. They were either waiting for them on another floor of the building, or all of the henchmen were already taken out.

Bruce hoped for his now-aching body that it was the second option.

…

To be continued…


End file.
